Zundrbar Cuisine
The Cuisine of Zundrbar is mainly centered around a fusion between the cuisine of the Mountain Dwarves to the north and the cuisine of the Dwarves to the south, in the Wetlands. This combination is mainly shown through seafood dishes being consumed in Zundrbar alongside heavier meats, starches, and ales. However, the cuisine of Zundrbar does place a large emphasis on the consumption of fruits and vegetables, leading to the citizens of Zundrbar having a significantly better quality of life when compared to their meat centered cousins. Staple Crops The diet of Zundrbar is mainly centered around two major crops- Potatoes and Wheat. Potatoes and Wheat are usually eaten more than once a day by the denizens of Zundrbar, as they are grown very commonly. Wheat is used in the brewing of ale, the creation of bread and other grain based pastries (e.g. tarts, cakes, etc.). Potatoes are used in many forms as well, ranging from cooked baby potatoes to mashed potatoes and more. The sweet potato is not grown, as it is looked down upon in Zundrbar as "peasant food." Structure of Meals for a single day When an average denizen of Zundrbar wakes up in the morning before their work begins- they will have to eat breakfast. Breakfast in Zundrbar often consists of bread with a form of meat, as well as some spreads, cheese, plenty of ale to drink, and even a morning smoke. The morning meal is often eaten at around six o'clock in the morning. The working day begins at six thirty in the morning, and due to the small community, commutes are often short, not lasting more than ten minutes. The next meal is Lunch, which is at twelve o'clock. A thirty minute break is given for lunch, in which merchants gather in the center of Zundrbar and sell food to the workers who are coming out of their jobs. Lunch is rather "in the middle" between Breakfast and Dinner. Lunch often brings an increased amount of focus onto the meats to contrast the focus on dairy in the morning, and the focus on all around servings in the evening. The break for lunch concludes at twelve thirty, and workers are back to work, until the conclusion of the working day at four thirty. From four thirty until six, there is a period of time known as, "Det Vreizaat," or, "The Freetime," in which workers, now free from the stresses of work, will go to the Honeybrew Meadery or another tavern, and usually get a few drinks, smoke a few cigars, and get together with their friends. When they return home at around six, dinner is prepared and served at seven. Dinner is often treated as the family gathering time, and thus lasts for two hours- from seven to nine. The dinner course is by far the most complex, and begins with a small serving of coffee, and is followed by a slow introduction of food, usually beginning with seafood, then vegetables, then meat, and then finally a stew of some sort. The main focus of the dinner is on an all around diet. The first period of dinner is known as, "the Introduction," and is centered around a course of fruit and a course of coffee. The fruits primarily consumed are: Apples, Pears, Cherries, Berries, and Plums. This is usually in the first fifteen minutes of the meal, and the coffee is often replaced by tea. Alcoholic beverages are usually not drank during this time, rather drank later on during the last parts of the meal. This is followed by the period of time known as, "The Time of the Sea." The Time of the Sea is characterized by several fish dishes, as well as sparkling water for drinking. The Time of the Sea primarily evolved from fishermen from Zundrbar heading out to the Wetlands and fishing. Primarily, Cod, Herring, Plaice, Sole, Mackerel, Eels, Tuna, Salmon, Trout, Oysters, Mussels, Shrimps, and Sardines are caught in the wet areas. The third part of dinner is referred to as, "The Meal Time," and is when the actual stew is served. Common stews include pork stews, lamb, and goat stews. Goat and Beef are used less than Pork and Lamb because of their usage for dairy. The second to last stage of the dinner is the dessert stage, which is often divided into two categories. The first category is mainly centered around the consumption of sweets, whereas the second is more official, and is the consumption of cakes and other pastries, usually accompanied once more by coffee or tea. This combination ultimately leads to the final stage- which is the drinking stage. The drinking stage is the final stage of the dinner process, and it is when the drinking and smoking occurs before bed. There is no drinking age in Zundrbar and thus ale is often given to younger children, although diluted with sparkling water. Tobacco is also not regulated, however it is common practice the withholding of tobacco from children until the age of 30. Meats Meat forms a very large part of the diet, and it is estimated that annually, on average, each denizen of Zundrbar will consume at least fifty pounds of meat. Pork, Lamb, and Game meats are the most common meats in Zundrbar, with Pork and Game Meats tying for being the most common. Game meats, specifically Boar, Bear, Venison, and Rabbit are most common. Beef is eaten to a lesser extent, although cows are mainly used for the production of dairy rather than meat, the same is said with Goats. Most meat is made in pot-roasted dishes, although there are special different varieties of cooking meat. One very special way of cooking venison is the marinating of the meat in a vinegar or a wine-vinegar mixture to add flavor. Drinkers in Zundrbar tend to stay away from wine, with the firm belief that it is "too sweet to be consumed as a legitimate alcoholic beverage." One of the most important cultural traditions of Zundrbar is the practice of sausage making, with many hundreds of varieties of sausages in Zundrbar. The culture of making sauage primarily comes from the mentality that, "every part of the animal should be used." The sausage making is often done individually by butchers, and they are cased in natural intestines of pork or lamb. Among the more common forms of sausages are: Bear Sauage (Baer Worst). Bear Sausage is the oldest sausage in the history of sausage-making in Zundrbar. In addition, Blood Sausage (Bloed Worst) and White Sausage (Wees Worst) are also very common. Stews are also very common forms of eating meat, although stews often contain large amounts of vegetables. Seafood Trout and Salmon are by far the most common fish eaten in Zundrbar, although a wide variety of fish is available for purchase at the Fishmarket. Cod, Herring, Plaice, Sole, Mackerel, Eels, Tuna, Oysters, Mussels, Shrimps, and Sardines are all commonly consumed. Zundrbar is famous for its raw Herring dishes, including Pickled Herring and Soused Herring. Smoked eel is also a common dish. Vegetables Tillage based crops are very common in Zundrbar, such as potatoes, kale, turnips, beetroot, green beans, carrots, celeriacs, onions, all kinds of cabbages, Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower, Endive, Spinach, Asparagus, and Lettuce are all commonly used. Onions are used by far the most for the addition of flavor into stews. Onions are often fried before being placed into stews, and are also caramelized when added to other more solid dishes. Vegetables are also used in vegetable exclusive soups, such as the Aardensoep- the Soup of the Earth, which is made up of many tillage based crops, hence the name, "Soup of the Earth." Mushrooms are also eaten very commonly, due to the thick forested areas which surround Zundrbar being rich with mushrooms. Mushrooms are often eaten in soups, stews, and with filets of meat. Fruits Fruits in Zundrbar have been mainly a small group, although nevertheless important. Apples, Pears, Cherries, Berries, Plums, and Peaches are all commonly eaten. With the creation of new colonies across Azeroth, new foods have also been exposed to the cuisine of Zundrbar. These include the Frost-plums of the Grizzly Hills, and Fjord-Peaches of the Howling Fjord. Fruits are often used in cakes or other pastries to enhance flavor organically, as a major facet of Zundrbar's diet is on nutrition. Fruits are also used commonly in jams. Grains Zundrbar's staple crop being wheat, has a large consumption of grains. One of the large areas where grain is consumed through is in bread. The most common types of breads in Zundrbar are: Rye-wheat, Multigrain, Whole Grain, Sunflower Seed in Dark Rye Bread, Pumpkin Seed in Dark Rye Bread, Roasted Onions in a Light Rye Bread, and Wheat-Rye. Bread is the most commonly consumed food in Zundrbar, and thus there are many other hundreds of variants of bread in Zundrbar. In terms of color, bread ranges from brown to dark brown to white to even black bread- a sign of large amounts of nutrition, most likely grown from fertile soil. A popular saying amongst denizens of Zundrbar is, "Our bread is dark like the soil," referencing this black colored type of bread. Rolls are also commonly eaten, usually with breakfast, with spreads such as jams, or chocolate spreads as well. Dairy Dairy is a major emphasized part of Zundrbar's diet. The amount of dairy they have is tied between coming from Goats, Sheeps, and coming from Cows. Goat cheese, Sheep's Cheese, and Regular cheese are all equally common, although butter primarily comes from Cow's Milk. Milk is usually not drank straight up as a liquid, although the Honeybrew Meadery is known to have collaborated with a farmer to create a beverage that was fermented goat's milk, and it tasted awful. Spices and Condiments Generally, dishes from Zundrbar are not spicy on their own, rather they use condiments, such as Mustard, to aid their spiciness. There is an annual competition in Zundrbar to see who can make the spiciest mustard. In addition, Parsley, Thyme, Laurel, Chives, Black Pepper (albeit sparingly), Juniper Berries, and Caraway are used to enhance flavor year-round. Around the time of Winter's Veil, Cardamom, Anise Seed, and Cinnamon are used to spice up dishes. Mustard, Horseradish, and Mayonnaise are all very popular condiments. Mustard is most often eaten with sausages, as is Horseradish. Mayonnaise is eaten more commonly with Potato Fries (also known as Poemmes in Hill Dwarvish) as well as in sandwiches. Jam, Jelly, Honey, and Butter, are all common spreads used in breakfast meals. In addition to these, Duck Liver is often used as a spread, as well as Patè. Alcohol Alcohol is a major part of every Hill Dwarf's normal lifestyle. Thus, Zundrbar has placed a large amount of emphasis on the Brewing career. In Zundrbar, the largest brewery is the Honeybrew Meadery, which was founded by the Honeybrew Clan, which was also the founding clan of the Brewer's Guild. Nowadays, the Brewer's Guild mainly receives profit from the taverns, and thus- the leader of the brewers- Kurdrash Stormkeg, primarily receives and manages the taverns. Consumption of Beer is very common, and there are very many different variants of beer. Due to Zundrbar's relatively small population in contrast to its rather large drinking habit, Zundrbar was the third largest consumer of alcohol per capita for several years straight in +1998, +1999, and +2000. Brewing of beer is taken as a serious subject, and Hill Dwarves of Zundrbar do not tolerate additives in their beer. Only the freshest ingredients can be used in the brewing of ale, which led to the Beer Purity Law of +0, which was one of the founding laws for the Brewer's Guild, as brewing was never seen as a centralized profession, but the point of the Brewer's Guild was to uphold the Purity Act. Beers are classified into several groups based off of how they are brewed: Wheat Beers, Pale Beers, Dark Beers, and Unfiltered Beers. Examples of Wheat Beers are: Weesbier (Common: White beer), Haafeweisen (Haafe means Yeast), and Krestaalweisen (A filtered Haafeweisen). Examples of Pale Beers are Pilsner, Bock, and Kloesterbier (Beer that was made in a cloister- usually blessed by the Titans or elemental lords). Examples of Dark Beers are: Altbier (Old Beer), Schwaarzbier (Black/Dark beer), Doenkler-Bock (Dark Bock), Roekbier (Beer drank whilst smoking). Examples of Unfiltered brews are: Kaalerbiers, which are also known in the common tongue as, "Cask Ales." Additionaly, Zwiegelbiers are another type of Unfiltered brew, that use a special kind of people referred to as Zwiegelbiers tend to be more carbonated than Kaalerbiers. The majority of beer in Zundrbar has an alcohol potency of between thirty and fifty percent, making it nearly twice as strong as Elvish wines. Beer is often drank using a beer staan, which is a special kind of container. Staans are often a symbol of family prestige amongst the owner's relatives. Tankards and Flagons are used as well, although Tankards are for more informal use, and Flagons are for more general storage of alcohol, rather than for drinking alcohol. There is a holiday in Zundrbar dedicated to beer- Bierfest, which is a weeklong celebration in September that commemorates the signing of the Purity Act and the founding of the Brewer's Guild. So far, the strongest cocktail to be made would be Blackbeard's Mojito, which was 90% alcohol per volume. Cocktails have begun increasingly common, especially among bars in Zundrbar. Many islander recipes have returned to Zundrbar, such as the Tel'Abim Banana Daquiri, and the Thousand Needles Mojito, which have created new flavors to be used in drinks. Overall, the cocktail industry is growing steadily, although most of the cocktails are centered around the production of Rum, which is in the Kaap Kolonie, for the Kaap Kolonie is known for its large amounts of sugar cane plantations. Zundrbar is Azeroth's fifth largest producer of rum, although that is not saying very much. In the next Bierfest of +2000, no cocktail entries were made since the plan for a cocktail contest was still being arranged, but in the Bierfest of +2001, it is guaranteed there will be cocktails present. Brandy is consumed at a small amount in Zundrbar, primarily due to a reluctance among the population to begin creating drinks related to wine as Hill Dwarves, specifically those in Zundrbar, have an unspeakable hatred for Elves that is never really understood why. Whiskey is consumed at a high amount, almost analogous to the consumption of beer. Whiskey is primarily consumed as a "more advanced" or "more dignified" beer. Non-alcoholic beverages One of the most comon non alcoholic beverages in Zundrbar is sparkling water. Sparkling water is consumed more than Regular Artisan Water, and has a consumption rate equal to that of beer. Many drinkers in Zundrbar follow the common practice of drinking one glass of sparkling water for every tankard of ale they have, believing that this allows them to curry the favor of Eonar the Lifebinder. In addition to sparkling water, many juices are consumed in Zundrbar. Grapefruit juice, Apple juice, and Orange juice are all very common. These juices are sometimes mixed with sparkling water to create "Schoerle," essentially a sparkling juice type drink. Furthermore, teas and coffees are consumed in large amounts in Zundrbar, primarily due to production overseas. Common tea include: Red Rooibos, which is harvested extensively in the Roedberg colonial region and in the Kaap Kolonie, as well as Sweets A very common sweet in Zundrbar is licorice. Licorice, both black (Schwaartlaakritz) and red (Roedlaakritz) are consumed. Black licorice is often sold at apothecaries in Zundrbar for the healing of both throat and stomachaches. There are many varieties of eating licorice. Sometimes, the licorice is made into strands and sold, or rather into small pieces and sold. Often times, honey comb shapes, diamonds, ovals, oblongs, and coins are commonly used for the making of pieces of licorice. Another very commonly eaten sweet in Zundrbar is Gummi candy. Gummi candy was first created by the Froststone Creamery, which is the primary producer of sweets in Zundrbar. Commonly eaten Gummi candies are: Hill Berry Gummies (Gummies which resemble Hill Berries- a local variant of berries that grow in Zundrbar), Gummi-Cola (Gummies which represent bottles of Cola), and Gummi-bears (Gummies which resemble bears, usually have varying flavors). Often times organic fruit will be used for the flavoring of the gummies, including the addition of juice for added taste. Ice cream is also very common in Zundrbar. Like Gummis, Ice Cream was first invented by the Froststone Creamery. Ice cream flavors are usually derived from fruit, although there are some exceptions. Commonly consumed flavors of ice cream are: Hill Berry Ice Cream, Hill Chocolate Ice Cream, Hill Plum Ice Cream, and Hill Berry-Chocolate Ice Cream. Most flavors created by the Froststone Creamery are combinations of two ingredients, such as Hill Banana-Chocolate Ice Cream, which is made using Hill Bananas and Hill Chocolate. Desserts Pastries and cakes are very common in Zundrbar. One of the most commonly found pastries is the doughnut. Doughnuts from Zundrbar do not have the hole in the center, which is common towards those of other nations, rather they are often known for their jam fillings. These doughnuts will often have Hill Berry Jam, Hill Plum Jam, and other kinds of Jam. In addition to these, another common type of dessert is the Streupwaafel- a Syrup Waffle. The Waffle is a thin wafer, and is sliced horizontally, and then sandwiched with a layer of caramel- the Streup or Syrup. These wafers may be ocasionally spiced with cinnamon, and nuts may be added to the Streupwaffel for added flavor. A popular dessert in Zundrbar is the Roedoebstpoeding- The Red Fruit Pudding in the common tongue. The Red Fruit Pudding is made using red and black currants as well as Hill Berries, and is cooked in juice with corn starch to thicken the mix. Vanilla sauce or whipped cream are commonly eaten wtih the red fruit pudding. A wide variety of cakes and tarts are available throughout Zundrbar. The most commonly eaten cake- the Groenwaalder Beerentorte (Greenforest Cake with Hill Berries) is filled with buttercream and whipped cream, as well as topped with both chocolate and Hill Berries. Another common cake is Cheesecake, which is often given many different flavors using different kinds of fruit. The cakes and torts in Zundrbar are often made using fresh fruit, such as the Hill Berries in the Groenwaalder Beerentorte and the Hill Berries in the Beeren-Kaasetorte (Berry flavored Cheesecake). Category:Zundrbar Category:Consumables Category:Foods Category:Drinks Category:Cooking